


Fibers

by gala_apples



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Multi, Objectification, Stress Relief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-08
Updated: 2012-10-08
Packaged: 2017-11-15 21:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gala_apples/pseuds/gala_apples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's hard, turning off Tony Stark's mind. But not everything in the world needs to think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fibers

The truth is, under the jaunty exterior, Tony’s pretty much constantly tense. He has been since Rhodey first met him. It’s entirely possibly he has been his whole life, since Mr Stark made him upgrade his own tricycle. It almost suits him. Hyper vigilance is a good tool for someone who throws himself head first into situations. Tony doesn’t have to waste important seconds mentally gearing up to fight a guy with lightning whips on a racetrack, he’s already on spot. 

Where the problem comes in -because there’s always a problem when it comes to wrangling Tony Stark- is the fact that the average man’s methods of chilling out are already in constant play for him. He always listens to loud music. He always drinks. He always breaks things with impunity. He always has orgasms. Which leaves it up to the wranglers to get creative.

Rhodey can appreciate the tazer then abandon to watch reality tv method. Really, he can. He’s had his own instances of a) wanting to electrocute Tony and b) reacting physically to Tony giving him shit. But where Agent Coulson got that wrong was the fact that it was a threat. Threats only gear Tony up, make his brain race faster. He needs to figure out all the angles of a threat. Even if he ends up doing nothing, Tony needs to have already followed a logic tree to decide that nothing is the best. On the surface it might look like compliance, a relaxed state, but Rhodey knows better.

The truth is, when Tony really and truly needs to be resettled there’s only one way to do it. And while normally they keep things Pepper-and-Tony and Rhodey-and-Tony, this is something best done together.

Rhodey looks across the couch at Pepper. It’s a massive U shaped piece, and for about the first five minutes of his visit they were each sitting on a side. Then Tony jittered into standing, and since then he’s been pacing and muttering to himself. And not in a productive way. Rhodey’s had a lifetime of Tony’s hyperactivity, he can tell when it’s getting something accomplished and when he’s going out of his mind. She can see it too, which means it’s time to say something.

“Pepper. You do any remodelling lately?”

The phrase remodelling is the cue. It’s like a safeword, almost, to inform everyone they’re not continuing with this unsafe reality. Tony will be safer in a scene now, and that’s what Rhodey and Pepper will give him. They’ll keep chatting while Tony slips out of the room to prepare himself, and they’ll do it, and then for a little while Tony will be centred and both he and Pepper will be better for it. 

“We’ve had to. More than one floor got damaged during the Chitauri attack.”

Rhodey nods. “Well, your architect did just fine, but you need to fire your interior decorator.”

Pepper’s head swivels as she pretends to survey the room. “You think? Why? I like the couch and the art.”

“Yeah, yeah. But he or she forgot the most important aspect. They didn’t bring in a rug.”

“Oh, but they did. If you want to just help me drag it into the room?”

Of course Rhodey’s going to be a gentleman. His mom would smack him upside the head if she ever caught him refusing to help a woman who asked for help. He levers himself off the couch and follows her out the door. 

Pepper grabs one end of the carpet, Rhodey the other. It’s hard to lug in the next room, the unsupported middle sagging down deeply. At least the decorator left it leaning against the wall in the hallway, not in the lobby downstairs. It would be a lot more awkward getting it through the labs and offices than it is moving it just ten feet. Comparatively, placing it where it should be is simple. And maybe the decorator isn’t all bad; the flesh tone does contrast well with the massive white couch.

Rhodey reclines on the couch, this time right beside Pepper. The cushion is soft under his ass, the throw pillows prop up his back and neck. The final piece of the puzzle is put in place when he stretches his legs and rests his feet on the throw rug. It’s as soft as the microfibre cushion and the way it ripples with each breath has an almost massaging effect.

“The fibre’s all out of whack here,” Rhodey points out, rubbing his toes where some bits have decided to poke up.

“How strange,” Pepper answers. Unlike his heavy wool socks, worn on the inside but still scratchy and rough on the outside, Pepper’s wearing pantyhose. Her foot glides much easier against the carpet until her toes join his. “Well, it’s too late to return it now. Might as well enjoy it.”

Rhodey agrees. This? This is something all three of them can enjoy.


End file.
